How Was Your Day?
Time to Unwind.
This is an Unhosted Cafe.
Cocktails & coffee under the window.
Cheese & crackers on the platters.
Cheese & crackers on the platters.
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Newspapers are in their regular spot next to the door
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Please recommend (and unrecommend the Cafe/Lounge from earlier)
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May the 4’s be with you
ManEegee had to run out for awhile, so froggybottom stepped in to run the bar.
And if you’re in another hemisphere–how was your night?
froggybottom. “Work” got in the way.
Damn, I left my drink in the other cafe.
Oh, well. I need to leave the office and run some errands. I’ll be back when the night crowd comes in.
Thanks, I didn’t want to drink and link .
Double shot of boubon please. I don’t care what kind cuz I don’t plan on tasting it.
I’m a little edgy the past day or two. IS IT SHOWING?
Sorry.
Sounds like you need a yoga class instead of bourbon. Or better yet, bourbon, then yoga.
See I need to get un-twisted not so tied up I need a paramedic ;oP
See, that’s the beauty of yoga. It feels so good when you stop.
Dude, if it helps at all, I am so cheering you on.
It does help ;o)
I’m just frustrated like we all are. I’m not yelling at people here. I’m yelling at the world.
Manee had to run off so we’re on our own. But I don’t mind sharing my bottle with you if it’ll cheer you up.
Mmmmm
Stout…my favorite. so chunky you’re tempted to eat it with a fork ;o)
Thanks Andi.
That you are a man of impeccable taste comes as no surprise.
I would be more concerned about us if we weren’t a bit edgy.
I’m exhausted. It was a looooong day.
Here’s some pics I took the other day (1.16.2006).
Carnation! Spicy, cinnamon-y scented flowers (view large)
Feather-y petals (view large)
Petals are shimmery, colourful, delicate (view large)
Gorgeous as always. I like the middle one best — I think it’s spiral that the petals are making is very visually appealing.
Beautiful — and very springlike colors, which I like today.
Oh, how you delight us!
Oh, how do you light your flowers?
jf
Well, it depends. Natural light for the outdoor shots. For the indoor ones, I’ll play w/ the manual light settings until I find the results replicate a natural view — or make it look funky and different. Some times I’ll bring in an external light source — an overhead halogen. Which is a lot easier to when the subject is a couple inches wide. 🙂
Really, I’m just learning all this stuff as I go along. This is my first camera (way behind the times!), and I’ve had it about a year now, so ‘technically’ it’s still a big, scary, but exciting world out there.
The photos above were taken on Tungsten setting w/ no external light and no flash. The colours appeared the most ‘true’ with Tungsten.
I meant to say, the photos above were taken on Tungsten setting w/ external light and no flash. 🙂
Thanks for the overhead lighting tip. Did you shoot the carnations against a dark background or just let the exposure take care of making the background black?
Thanks for sharing your photos and your technique.
jf
No background set up. The background darkens (or fades in brighter light situations) w/ exposure and focus. In the case w/ the carnations, I was in my dining room at night, so the overall lighting was very muted. This combined with the focused external light on the flowers really darkened the background. Working w/ macros I haven’t had to worry too much about backgrounds. The ‘subject’ tends to fill the frame. But lighting is an interesting discussion I had w/ a friend the other day who does portrait work. He carries light reflectors (gold, foil, etc.) as well as tinted lenses b/c people’s skin reacts differently to different light. Actually he carries a lot of stuff — too much I think!
just one of the PSG’s(photo slut groupies)chiming in here to say well, Wow.
I think it would be safe to say that most of us here at BT are PSGs, (it’s one of the highlights for me to see all the wonderful photos the peeps post), seeing as how we have so many different types to admire and ‘oh and ah’ over. We’re really quite spoiled, aren’t we?
{{CI}}
Hi Olivia,
Wow! I can Smell the cinnamon. Gorgeous as always. The shine on the petals in the third photo is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
It’s good to see you — it’s been awhile since we were both in the cafe at the same time. Might have something to do w/ that time difference. Seeing as how I’m up past my bedtime now, and I’ll surely pay for it tomorrow. 🙂
I like this picture from yesterday. It was foggy at sunrise but it burned off in record time. Fog makes me feel either cozy or claustrophobic, depending on my mood. So…lately…claustrophobic!
Nice. Moody and suggestive.
Wait, yes I can see him there in the mist, a carpenter in Levis (nice tight Levis) and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to that nice spot.
LOL! I think that’s the Brawny paper towel guy.
I thought he looked familiar.
than yesterday. Work-related reasons and all. So that is good. I still can’t take the fucking rest of the world though. I’m of the feeling that Alito will get confirmed, and I hate that. I fear that, actually. I’m semi-seriously thinking of getting myself a rifle or something… is that bad?
Glad today was much better….
Being a “gun toting, red meat eating, liberal” like Ed Schultz…I can’t object to owning rifles or other firearms. Just be careful why you want them…we’ll talk in San Diego!
Personally I like more agressive releases of energy – hammers, splitting firewood, pick axes in the garden…
Volunteer to help a friend demolish a room they are remodeling…mucho relaxion from whacking things!
….or learn to play the drums ;o)
You get to beat the living crap out of something while making music.
Essential for Mikey
Hee-hee. My lil nephew got a set of drums for Christmas… He wasn’t exactly pounding out the ‘music’ yet, but maybe some day he’ll get there. My poor dad’s eardrums…
“Johnny, please!” I think it was a Pioneer ad from the 1970’s featuring a little kid pounding on stuff. I only saw it once and as a musician I was a blubbering mess by the end of it.
OK, we’ll talk in San Diego.
Seth hunts and has a few guns, though I never learned how to shoot them properly. I’ve shot a few many many years ago… Being a single woman in rural America, I’m just kinda starting to wonder…
I’m really thinking of it more as a personal security thing, as opposed to some sort of release. I’ve been opposed to guns in the past, but am really rethinking that perspective lately…
Personally I want a rocket launcher. Actually two. One to mount on top of the car for traffic control, and the other to keep in my back pocket for any uncomfortable situations that might arise during everyday life.
Anyone remember that song from the mid 80’s?
It went, “if I had a rocket launcher, some son of a bitch would die” ?
I love easy listening ;oP
I think I’ve told you about my dad’s invention idea… It’s a quadro-plex nebulizer, as he calls it. It’s a device in your vehicle, which vaporizes any traffic in front of you, until you pass it, then it ‘reappears’ them… He’s a bit goofy too. 🙂 I’m sure that’s where I get my goofy side from…
Sounds like a lot of people get indiscriminately nebulized in the process but as long as they all reappear on the back end I guess it’s ok and their skin is probably nice and soft afterwards too ;o)
I ask everyone the same thing…are you prepared to shoot to kill?
Trained by police and hanging out with similar types it is easy for me. That’s the question you really have to be prepared to answer before you buy a weapon for personal safety.
Me…if needed I wouldn’t hesitate…but MP training will do that do you. So I still own weapons and only hollow point bullets.
Interesting – I don’t like hunting. Fishing is okay but I have trouble going with my UT relatives hunting. Mainly because I talk to the local deer. If I needed to for food like they do then I’d hunt.
Good solid conflicted democrat values there! ;^D
That’s the right question. I have police officers in my family and that’s what they say. Because if you aren’t prepared to shoot, the gun will be used on you.
That’s right, Sally. I had forgotten you had that background… I would like to say I would be willing if absolutely necessary, but I can’t picture the situation, so I am unsure.
Oh my… you should have seen Seth and I when he first decided he wanted to go hunting. Were those ever some ‘discussions’. I think I finally let up because he was dealing with a predator-prey relationship, even though he didn’t have to. Even though it’s not a fair relationship. Even though I was primarily a vegetarian at the time.
But, he was eating the majority of the deer, and it was a natural meat source. He was not at all into the trophy kill, as my neighbor was, even though he used the majority of the meat too. Nor did Seth bait deer, as many around here do, and that sucks. That sucks shit, in my book. Plus, deer are abundant and we have overrun their habitat, unfortuntely. I’m conflicted on the whole thing still, but I have come to accept his reasons for hunting.
Still, the pacifist in me has some trouble with it, but living in rural America, it’s kind of a way of life around here. My ex-neighbors’ friend traps squirrels for crying out loud to eat them… It’s fucked up, in my opinion.
to owning hunting guns…as long as the hunter eats what he shoots. Trophy hunters — feh. Meat eaters — cool. (Or what they don’t/can’t eat, they can donate to a food kitchen if it can be done without being a health hazard…)
The family of my best friend in high school raised rabbits in their backyard for meat; many times I’d stay over and they’d actually cook up one for me. My friend’s dad was very humane; he could dispatch a rabbit with one karate chop to the back of the neck. And yes, rabbit does taste a bit like chicken, but there’s no white meat…
Happy your work situation evened off today. Did someone send a lettrer or something letting them know how valuable you are to them and if you want to eat a three course meal at your desk they better make sure your glass is full and dessert is on the way?
Hardly… 🙂 But big bad boss lady was civil to me today, and pleased with what I got done, so that is a plus. Plus… I found out how to send choco’s… Any details? 😉
Something to get me through the evening
Long day…part of the stuff done at work…
Someone else didn’t finish on time so I’m working at home tonight…
Question should I swear at that person that invented flash drives now or after a couple of hours at home?
So I’ll cheer my friends that gave me a bottle of 15 year old MCCallan – for tax advice I gave them…
4’s in a little while in the earlier diary.
The grading frenzy has passed. Time to relax for a couple of days. I got exciting mail today, the information for the Library Sciences program. So much to read.
What wonderful pictures to enjoy while I contemplate a future without exams to grade.
Congratulations! (And now you won’t need so much space in the cafe to spread out in.)
And I actually be able to hang out in the cafe and have a conversation.
Did you let Andrew help you grade? I have a very fond memory of a college final (Chaucer) where the blue book came back “decorated” by the daughter of the prof.
Andrew doesn’t help yet. He just rips paper. He hasn’t figure out how to use a crayon yet.
He just rips paper.
Well there’s a solution to having too many papers to grade.
Instead of “The dog ate my homework”, it’d be, “The kid ripped your homework”…
Anyone watching channel 13 now?
Frontline: Private Warriors
Interview with security contractor as to why the Army Corps of Engineers needed a private contractor; first replies that he cannot comment on US policy, then says ‘but I can allude to the need for troop reduction’ (paraphrasing)
Even the mercenaries acknowledge that the war is being privatized. Pretty scary.
Not on yet in the central time zone.
Hi Mary,
Good for you – you can catch the whole thing. It is really informative, some good interviews, incl. an expert on military contracting (very sceptical to how the contracting of private security contractors is done) and a colonel describing the lack of regulation and licensing of contractors and the resulting wild west.
And sorry for going all political in the lounge.
Pizza Hut Iraq…what’s next.
The cost of this (in actual dollars) is enormous. And they don’t have to account for it.
That Frontline was pretty depressing.
I totally fell asleep after dinner. I was completely asleep for hours!
But, I did see Governor Dean —
And talked to him for a few minutes, too.
Excuse me but who’s the hottie on the left?
The hottie on MY left was Howard Dean!
I’m green with jealousy! What was he like?
He was very, very nice.
He said something in his “speech” about how after we elect a Democratic House & Senate they’ll pass legislation for Healthcare for everyone. That we can do it (as so many other countries do) without bankrupting the country.
So, afterwords I hovered until I could talk to him about it directly. And I asked if knowing the Senators and Congressmen who are there — could that really happen, is it likely? He said – ‘Yes’. I said, but they’re all millionairs, and sometimes I wonder if they get it. He said, that the Senators are mostly millionairs, but most Congressmen aren’t and they get it. They do.
And I went to Congressman Cleaver and asked him about how his fellow congressmen feel about it. And he said that 90-95 percent of them are committed to it.
I couldn’t go into more detail with either man. About how they’ll find the spine to stand up to the insurance industry. But, they both looked me straight-on and said that Healthcare for everyone was a priority.
I made it clear that I was talking about everyone. That I thought people should be able to quit a job to start their own business without worrying about healthcare.
I didn’t say this but, I’m sick of always talking about children & healthcare. Yes, it’s important. But grownups need healthcare too. Even childless grownups!
Great conversation! And I agree with you about children and healthcare — EVERYONE needs it. How many people were there?
It was 50 or less.
It was the first of a series of Democracy Bond events. I was going to write a diary about it titled Democracy Bonds = Healthcare.
Because the idea is that you can buy a Democracy Bond for monthly $10, or $20 or $30, or whatever amount. Dean has a goal of 1 million people buying bonds with an average of $20 a month (I’ve bought a $10 bond, for $120 per year commitment).
If they meet that goal, they’ll have $20 million a month to fund their 50 state program. They already have staff in all 50 states. But, they want to expand it and have the country covered with DNC-paid staff who can focus on voter registration & get out the vote in every precinct.
My bond was numbered in the low thousands, so they’ve got a way to go. But, my sister is now the Deputy Directory of Grassroots Fundraising for the DNC, so I know the program will be a success!
Katiebird!!! Yousa, yousa, hotty is right!! Oh, and you’re cute too. 🙂 Just kidding, you look terrific.
I am so jealous I can’t stand it. Dean is my man. I think he’s the absolute greatest! He’s the most real politician we have.
And thank you for mentioning that we all need health care not just “the children”.
Well, I didn’t have the chance to be that specific. But, I did say that I believed that the healthcare issue has kept many, many people from going into business for themselves. Which clearly wasn’t about the children.
I wish I wasn’t feeling so brain-clogged, I really wanted to write up something more thoughtful.
No matter when you get around to writing about it — we never tire of hearing Howard stories. Take your time.
What she said!!!
The reason I was able to go into home craft biz was that we had Puget4’s state worker health insurance and now state retiree pensioner health ins. But we expect our former state of OHIO to wind down the health insurance and possibly terminate the pensions. Ohio is very red and they love to mine their state workers.
We’re lucky to be probably welcome to move with our biz to Canada (pending approval of course) so we need to get our butts over the border while we’re still healthy enough. We dare not gamble on the United States because the risk is losing everything for life.
Don’t worry about being brain clogged tonight. Your topic will be timely and keenly followed whenever you have the time!
Wonderful picture and nice of Dean also but now for the serious commentary on the picture…hey we have the same color hair(and eye color? brown) it looks like..although I admit mine is starting to fade a bit as I’ve gotten older.
eyes = brown, yes
Hair Color = different every month. Although no matter what color I buy, it looks pretty much like that after a week. My hair used to be the kind of reddish, goldish, deep-brownish that made strangers/teachers/parents-friends stop me on the street to rave. But, it started fading when I was 28 and by the time I was in my mid-thirties it was your basic mud-color. Now, it’s iron-grey.
But, my eyebrows are still the deep-black they’ve always been (which made a lot of people think that my hair should be black). And I’ve decided that I’ll color my hair until the eyebrows fade. I don’t want to be one of those eighty-year-old redheads!
Clickie to enlargie.
Bonnie purple heather blooming over backlit green grass in a rare sun break this afternoon during toto dog walk. 50 degrees and balmy south winds.
And we have stars tonight too. Puget4 got to see her favorite Irishman in the sky–we call him Moichel O’Rion.
It wasn’t Howard Dean but hey as long as somebody got to see him we’re happy.
Katiebird: The director of Capote is on Charlie Rose starting right now (on my PBS, don’t know about yours).
Followed by the director of the PBS series on the French / Indian War that I just wrote a diary on.
I have a question — does the film editor also edit the trailer for the film or does the studio have someone else who does trailers?
The Trailers are contracted out. And often put together way before the film is finished.
I’m sorry I missed the directory on Charlie Rose. Maybe it will be recycled later in the week. Did he say anything interesting. Everyone I’ve heard from the show has maintained absolute silence about the editing.
He was interesting but said nothing about the editing.